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Saturday, 4 March 2017

Acting President introduce New ideas for Niger Delta emancipation

In whatever must quell tension, violent,
kidnapping attacks on nation’s wealth must have input of some elements of fresh
ideas reintroduced in finding lasting solution once, and for all. This is
indeed so, when federal government delegation, led by acting president
introduced new ideas of fresh air to oil
producing communities in the region of Niger delta

The Acting President, Prof. Yemi
Osinbajo stated this Thursday at a town hall meeting held with elders and
people of Akwa Ibom State in continuation of his tour of states in the Niger
Delta region.

“I am here as the emissary of
President Mohammadu Buhari who after the
visit of Pan Niger Delta Forum in November 2016 decided that we must undertake
visit to engage with the leadership and people of oil producing communities of
the region to hear them and understand their problems and concern”, he said.

He said the tour was to offer
communities in the Niger Delta and all oil producing communities a new vision
and a new compact in the great source of wealth of the nation.

In this direction, the Acting
President said the Federal Government had begun a partnership with oil producing
states, LGAs, oil companies, private investors and civil society organisations
for the rapid development of all oil producing communities in the country.

“We must treat oil and the oil
producing communities as special development areas focusing in particular on
how to ensure that that the people see the benefit of the wealth of the land.

“This new vision will define the future of the
region. We must make all our oil producing communities’ hub for petro-chemical
industries (small and large).We must make these communities hub for refining
and related activities”, Osinbajo stated.

Already, the Acting President
hinted that the Ministry of Petroleum was collaboration with many major
companies working on with illegal refineries in order to establish modular
refineries that would be able to produce much better than what they were doing
now.

He reiterated that the blessing of
oil paradoxically had become a curse or at worst a burden as the means of
livelihood of the people like fishing
and farming had constantly been destroyed by pollution and revenue earned over
the years simply disappeared in many cases.

Osinbajo praised the youth of Akwa
Ibom State for not engaging in vandalism and violence as there was no real
advantage in destruction of asset located in the community as the result was
environmental damage and driving away investment.

He noted the feelings of the state
about the absence of the headquarters of International Oil Companies (IOC)
operating in the state.

“For the relocation of the headquarters
of the IOCs, I direct the Minister of Petroleum to engage with the IOCs on the
way forward. I think this is the right thing to do that they should be present
here”, he said.

On the non-inclusion of indigenes
of the state in the amnesty programme of the federal government, the Acting
President said the amnesty office and ministry of petroleum were working on
providing the same benefits of amnesty for the youths in the state as provided
in other states.

“The ministry of petroleum and the
amnesty office are working with individual states; certainly they will be
working with Akwa Ibom State to ensure that they also get the benefits.

“Indeed, as a matter of fact in the
2017 budget, there is a provision of N1billion for the Ibaka deep sea port.

“It is a matter we take very
seriously and we intend to partner with the Akwa Ibom State Government on the
issue”, he assured.

The Acting President called on the
people of the state not to wait for the federal government to do everything but
should work towards attracting private investment.

“The biggest benefit you can obtain
is to attract more investment in this state; it is private investments that
drive development. Whatever the federal or state government can produce is only
a fraction of what private investment can bring. Private investment is the
driver of progress anywhere in the world.

“I want to challenge the young
professionals and entrepreneurs who are here that it is time for them to set up
entrepreneur council, chamber of commerce for young professional and commercial
people.

“It is that chamber of commerce
that we can identify those who want to involve in technology, agriculture, oil
and gas, manufacturing. A chamber of commerce properly organized will attract
investment locally and internationally investment and partnership even
funding”, Osinbajo stressed.

Governor Emmanuel equally expressed
concern that the Federal Government had not signature project in the state and
called on the federal government to assist the state in the establishment of
cocoanut refinery.

He complained that the state being
the highest producer of crude oil in the country should be considered for a
juicy position in the oil sector saying since the creation of NNPC, no indigene
of the state had been appointed as the Managing Director.

“If we are the highest producer of
crude oil what happen that we never for one day produce the managing director
of NNPC. We have the brains, intelligent people that can fill these vacancies.
We are eager to occupy some of these positions as a strategy economic important
of the nation”, he stressed.